Their Little Secret
by Brave orange blossom
Summary: Souta, Akazukin and the rest of their friends are traveling to Cendrillon's Castle so they stop at a cave for the night. As everybody sleeps, what secret are Souta and Akazukin hiding from the rest of them? Spoilers through episode 33. Oneshot. Pairing is Souta and Akazukin. If you don't like this pairing, then please don't read this story.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Otogi-Jushi Akazukin.

**Author Notes: **Spoilers through episode 33

Akazukin and Souta are already together in this fanfiction

I'm sorry if Souta and Akazukin are out of character. I tried keeping them in character as much as possible.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

_Italics _= _thoughts and flashbacks_

**Their Little Secret**

Souta lay on the ground clutching his blanket trying to fall asleep like everybody else had. Souta and his friends who were traveling to Cendrillon's Castle were about to go through a snow-capped mountain range. When the sun rose, after everybody had breakfast they would start traveling again. Akazukin said that mountains are dangerous to cross at night so they would have to go at a fast pace to cover as much ground as possible.

Souta sat up and folded his blanket into a square. He set it down next to his backpack and stood up. He crept away from the rest of the group and walked out of the cave they were staying in for the night. It was a nice night out. The stars were out and Souta was surprised that he could spot a couple of familiar constellations in the sky. He also saw that there was a full moon out. He walked over to a nearby tree and sat down under it.

He sighed quietly. He didn't know why he couldn't sleep that night. Usually he had no problems sleeping. He tensed as he heard footsteps coming closer to where he was sitting. He got to his feet and turned around intending to run back to the cave. Somebody or something grabbed him before he could though. Souta yelped in surprise.

"Zukyun! I got you!" Souta heard the thing that grabbed him say. Knowing that voice he turned to the voice seeing his girlfriend Akazukin there smiling cheerfully.

Souta let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled back at her. "Akazukin, don't scare me like that! I thought you were a Nightmarian."

Akazukin winced in sympathy. "Sorry Souta. I didn't mean to scare you that bad." She looked down sadly her smile gone.

Souta's eyes widened. He didn't like it when Akazukin wasn't her cheerful self. He hugged her closely. "It's okay. I'm fine now." He said trying to get her to smile again.

Akazukin looked at Souta trying to see if he meant it. She nodded the smile coming back to her face. "Thank you Souta." She smiled cheerfully at him looking like her normal self. She hugged him back letting her head rest on his shoulder.

Souta sighed in relief seeing Akazukin's normal smile on her face. He loved her smile; he never wanted her to be unhappy. He raised one of his hands to her brown hair and started to run his fingers through it. Her hair was surprisingly down from the usual hair style she had it in during the day. He loved her soft hair and he liked touching it whenever he got a chance. Souta never realized since Akazukin always had her hair up, that her hair stopped past her shoulders.

Akazukin giggled. "Having fun Souta?" She said raising her head to look at him.

Souta blushed. "I love your hair like this. You should let it down more." He said truthfully.

This time Akazukin blushed. "I would but it's hard to take care of. In a fight, it might hinder me. Besides it's easier putting it up since I wear my helmet all the time." She looked away bashfully. "Y-You really love it like this?" She glanced back at Souta. He nodded his warm smile on his face. "Thank you Souta." She blushed deeper hiding her face into his shoulder again.

Souta chuckled under his breath. He loved making Akazukin blush. She wore red mostly and he thought it suited her considering her name. He also thought she looked really cute blushing. He ran his fingers through her hair again. "You want to sit down?" He asked. She nodded following him to the tree where he sat at before. He sat down leaning against the broad trunk of the tree. Akazukin sat down next to him leaning her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing up? We got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. You need your rest." Akazukin said looking at Souta.

Souta sighed quietly. He knew she would ask sooner or later. "I know. I can't sleep." He lifted his arm and put it around Akazukin bringing her closer to his body.

Akazukin cuddled closer to Souta. "Did you have a nightmare?" She asked concerned. She knew that since coming to Phandavale, he had been sleeping fine. But being attacked over and over and getting put in dangerous situations time and time again it would be no surprise if Souta had trouble sleeping.

"No. No nightmares." Souta smiled at her.

"You're not getting sick are you? I wouldn't be surprised if you were since we're almost near the heart of these mountains. With all of the snow around, we're going to have to dress warmly." She said.

He nodded at that. He could feel and hear the cool mountain breeze going through their hair and making the leaves above rustle. "No, I'm fine. I just couldn't fall asleep right away, that's all." He kissed her forehead making her blush again. "Thank you though. I appreciate your concern."

Akazukin smiled relieved her face a little red still. "I'm glad. You should probably go to bed soon though. You need your rest." She said.

"So do you. What are you doing up Akazukin?" Souta asked.

"Me? Um, well guard duty." She said uncomfortably. He looked at her surprised. "What? Just because we're sleeping doesn't mean that the Nightmarians will stop attacking us. I have to make sure that they don't get a chance to launch a sneak attack on us."

"But what about Shirayuki's protection magic? Won't that protect us?" Souta wondered.

Akazukin shook her head. "Shirayuki's magic only protects us from magic. She cast a protection spell over the entrance of the cave as well but we all know that that doesn't stop Randagio from finding us. He's managed it time and time again."

"Oh. Too bad." Souta looked down disappointed.

"In fact, we should go back to the cave. It's probably safer than being out in the open like this." She said.

Souta nodded in agreement but didn't move. He looked up to the sky seeing the constellations he saw earlier.

"Souta." Akazukin said softly trying not to startle him. He glanced at her giving her his attention. "What are you thinking about?" She asked curiously.

He thought for a minute thinking about what to say. "You. Us. The constellations I see." He said truthfully.

She blushed again. "Me?"

He nodded smiling at her. "I think you look really beautiful right now." His smile got wider as her already red face reddened more.

Akazukin looked toward the stars trying to avoid Souta's gaze embarrassed. Remembering what he said earlier, she asked "What constellations do you see?"

"I see Orion and Pegasus." He looked towards the stars as well trying to see if he could spot any others.

"Orion? Isn't he the centaur?" She asked confused.

Souta chuckled. "No, that is Sagittarius. Orion is the hunter."

Akazukin blushed due to embarrassment. "O-Oh. Oops. I'm not good with constellations. I just know enough not to get lost." She said sheepishly.

Souta laughed out loud. "That's still good. I don't know a lot of constellations either. I just know some simple ones." He smiled.

Akazukin smiled back. She was glad that her boyfriend was so nice and wouldn't make fun of her for not knowing the constellations. "Don't they mention constellations in fairy tales?" She asked curiously. She didn't know much about Erde's fairy tales.

He thought for a minute trying to remember different fairy tales that he had read. "Only common ones I think." He said. "What about the fairy tales here?"

She thought for a minute but drew a blank. She didn't know a lot of Phandavale fairy tales. "I don't know a lot of fairy tales. You probably know more than I do since you ask about them every time we go into a village." She said looking back at Souta.

Souta blushed under Akazukin's gaze. "I don't know about that Akazukin. The ones I listened to don't mention the stars that much. If they are mentioned, they don't talk about the constellations." He said remembering all of the fairy tales he had listened to ever since he came to Phandavale.

Akazukin smiled cheerfully. "See, you do know more than me. By the way, there are Pegasi here in Phandavale."

He looked at her surprised. "There are?" He knew he shouldn't be surprised since Phandavale is the world of magic with all of the fantasy creatures that he's read about in books but he couldn't help himself.

She nodded. "Yeah. Pegasi are really nice creatures. I like flying on their backs." She grinned as she remembered something from the past. "Val doesn't like them though."

"Why? Is he jealous?" He grinned back at her.

She giggled. "Yeah, that might be it. If he could fly, I would have an easier time getting rid of Nightmarians. As it is, I'll have to make do with our special jump attack." She giggled some more at the thought of Val flying.

He looked at her giggling to herself. _Her giggling is so cute. Everything about her is cute._ He thought smiling warmly.

She stopped giggling but still had a smile on her face. She looked at Souta. "Actually, Val had a bad experience with Pegasi in the past. That's why he doesn't like them."

Souta looked back at Akazukin. "Oh, so that's why. You should tell me that story sometime." He said.

Akazukin nodded in agreement. "Sure. I love telling that story." She grinned mischievously at Souta. Souta had a bad feeling that Akazukin had something to do with Val's bad experience but didn't voice his thoughts out loud. "Souta?" She asked.

"Hmm? What is it Akazukin?" He asked.

Akazukin blushed. She loved hearing her name come from Souta's lips. She hesitated on what she was going to say to him. Souta noticed she was having trouble but stayed silent waiting on her whenever she was ready. "Why were you thinking about us?" She finally asked after a couple of minutes.

Souta grimaced inwardly. He wanted to be honest with Akazukin but he was worried about how she would take it. "I was just wondering if it was okay that we are together." He looked down at the mountain path.

Akazukin felt like her heart skipped a beat. She was really worried now. "What do you mean? Is it because we're from two different worlds? Or is it about me protecting you?" She asked worried.

Souta shook his head. "No. That's not it. I was just wondering if we are doing the right thing keeping our relationship a secret from the others." He took a deep breath then let it out. He then looked back at Akazukin. Her smile was gone and she looked confused. _I'm sorry Akazukin. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. _He thought regretfully.

Akazukin nodded. "I understand. I just don't know what Shirayuki's reaction will be. I don't want her to be heartbroken and then her concentration wavers in battle. Or I don't want her angry with me and then our teamwork messes up." She said.

Souta grimaced. "Well she's going to be angry at us when we tell her we've been keeping it a secret from her anyway." He said wryly.

Akazukin smiled a little bit. "That's true. Ringo too." She nodded.

He was glad to see a small smile back on her face. He was confused about her last comment though. "What do you mean 'Ringo too'?" He asked.

She looked at him incredulously. He knew that Shirayuki had a crush on him but he didn't know Ringo had a crush on him as well? _No wonder he didn't know I had feelings for him until I confessed. _She thought. _That still doesn't explain anything though. _"Ringo has a crush on you Souta." She said slowly.

Souta's mouth dropped in surprise. He wasn't aware of that at all. He knew that they had a close bond and that she was protective of their friendship but he didn't think she felt that way for him. Now that he thought about it, a lot of her actions made sense now. "Oh. I didn't know that. That won't be pleasant." He winced at the thought.

She nodded wincing as well. "So, what do we do? Have you thought of anything?" She asked.

Souta thought about it for a couple of minutes. While he thought, Akazukin looked around alert making sure there were no Nightmarians around. "I guess for now we keep it our little secret still." He said bringing her attention back to him. "I still love you Akazukin. I want us to be together still." He said making both of them blush at his words. He marveled at the fact that saying the three special words to his girlfriend is almost effortless now compared to when he could barely stammer out his confession a couple of months back.

Akazukin blushed while smiling cheerfully. "Zukyun! I love you too Souta! I want us to be together as well!" She said cuddling into him more.

Souta smiled warmly back at her. "Good. Then we don't have to talk about this anymore." He kissed her cheek making both of them blush again.

They sat in silence just enjoying the silent night and each other's presence. Akazukin was looking at a tree that was sparkling oddly trying to see if a Nightmarian was in there when she was interrupted by Souta's yawn. She smiled at him. "Souta, are you sleepy?" She teased him.

Souta looked at her about to respond but was cut off by his own yawning. His eyes watered as he yawned again. He nodded tiredly.

She smiled gently at him seeing he was too tired to respond normally. "Let's get you to bed now Souta." She gently moved his arm away from and her and stood up. She turned to him stretching a hand out to him.

Souta took the outstretched hand and smiled at her gratefully as she helped him stand up. They walked back to the cave in silence still holding hands. "Akazukin, wait." He said stopping before they went inside the cave.

Akazukin stopped and looked at Souta curiously. "What is it Souta?" She asked.

Souta gathered all of his courage and looked Akazukin in the eyes. He closed his eyes and slowly started to lean in to her.

Akazukin blushed. This wasn't her first kiss with Souta but every time she kissed Souta or Souta kissed her, she blushed easily. She closed her eyes and leaned in as well. She felt Souta's lips on hers and marveled at the fact that they fitted perfectly together. They kissed until the need for air arrived. They gasped for air looking at each other. Akazukin blushed redder but was pleased to see that Souta was blushing like a tomato as well. "Well that was nice." She smiled cheerfully at him.

Souta smiled back at her. "Yeah. That was some good night kiss." He agreed. He kissed her one more time on the lips this time not as long. He smiled at her. "Good night Akazukin. I love you." He said lovingly.

Akazukin blushed at that but smiled all the same. "Good night Souta. I love you too." She said with complete adoration and devotion in her eyes. "Remember. If you dream of any Nightmarians, just dream of me. I'll always protect you from them."

Souta smiled warmly at her. "Thank you Akazukin. I know you will protect me from them." He said. _I know you will. Thank you Akazukin. I love you. Never forget that.  
_

**Author Notes: **Alright, my first story and oneshot for Otogi-Jushi Akazukin is done!

If you have time, please review! I would love to know what you thought of my story. This is my first time writing romance so I'm not sure if I did a good job or not.

I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Till next time then!


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